


Heaven Beside You (Awkwardness Within)

by RedSkittleCure



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Basement Gerard Way, Blow Jobs, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Pencey!Frank, brief smidgen of angst, frank tries very hard, slight petekey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-24 01:56:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8351797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedSkittleCure/pseuds/RedSkittleCure
Summary: The really hot guy turns to him, and Gerard sees that he’s got a fucking nose piercing and pierced ears and Gerard is just really, really fucked because this guy is so out of his league, it isn’t even funny.“Hi!” the guy smiles, sticking a hand out, “I’m Frank!”Gerard stares dumbfoundedly at the waiting hand, waiting a few seconds too long before taking it, “Gerard,” he manages to spit out, mentally taking extremely detailed notes of the calluses on Frank’s hand. Fuck, he’s such a creep. OR: The one where Frank works very hard and woos Gerard via passing him notes in class





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was not actually supposed to be this long. 
> 
> Oops. >.>
> 
> Title from Alice in Chains.

“Mikey,” Gerard groans, flopping onto the couch, phone wedged uncomfortably between his head and hand.

“Gerard.” Mikey replies, “If this is another call to complain about your class, I am hanging up right now.”

“But it’s at a community college, which is just counterintuitive to have to go to while being enrolled in another college,” Gerard whines, staring blankly at the tv in front of him, where the muted characters on Bob's Burgers are doing something involving turkeys and Wonder Wharf, "and it’s three days a week.”

“Gerard,” Mikey says, sounding like he really is two seconds away from hanging up, “It’s your own damn fault you failed it the last semester they were offering it, you know this. Is there an actual issue here, or are you just letting anxiety rule your life?”

The answer here is yes. Yes, Gerard is letting anxiety rule his life, because it’s not exactly like a community college campus is fucking streets below SVA, he’s just terrified of having to maybe meet new people and maybe talk to new people. And sure he knows he really should have studied more, but is it really his fault that he can’t just take an equivalent and have that make up the credits?

“But I’ve never been there before, I don’t know what to _expect_.”

Mikey hangs up. 

Gerard sighs and sits up to unmute the tv; Donna Summers comes blaring out at him, and he sighs harder before getting up to find his sketchbook so he can sketch out some of his anxiety.

His phone rings again, but he barely hears it underneath the tv so by the time he scrambles around for it he’s just missed Mikey’s call. He hits redial and waits, turning Bob’s Burgers down again.

“Yeah?” he says when Mikey picks up.

“I’m not calling to listen to you whine again, I just remembered that Mom wanted me to tell you that you have to come home for Christmas at the very least, and that you and I are going out to dinner sometime this week.”

Gerard picks at his nails, holding back a whine, it’s been far too long since he’s actually hung out with Mikey so going out to dinner with him would be a nice change of pace, “Yeah okay, but I’m not making any promises for showering, fucker.”

Mikey hangs up again, but this time Gerard knows he won.

***  
By the time he finds the room the class is being held in, Gerard’s stomach has managed to stop eating itself, and he’s feeling pretty confident that he will make it out of this unscathed with the only downfall being the extra train he has to take just to get here.

And then he actually enters the room.

And all of his anxiety hits him like a fucking train, because there, next to the only available seat in the room, is the most beautiful guy Gerard has ever laid eyes on. He freezes, mentally calculating the distance between the seat and himself and considering all of the possible ways he can possibly embarrass himself on the way there. Then the guy turns his head and catches Gerard’s eye, a smile lighting up his perfect face; Gerard is already fighting the itch to dig out his sketchbook and memorialize the arch of his eyebrows and the beauty of that fucking _lip ring_.

His body moves on its own accord and while he’s caught up in thoughts of stretching this guy out and using him for Gerard’s figure drawing class, he manages to sit next to the guy and not trip over his own feet and fall.

The really hot guy turns to him, and Gerard sees that he’s got a fucking nose piercing and pierced ears and Gerard is just really, really fucked because this guy is so out of his league, it isn’t even funny.

“Hi!” the guy smiles, sticking a hand out, “I’m Frank!”

Gerard stares dumbfoundedly at the waiting hand, waiting a few seconds too long before taking it, “Gerard,” he manages to spit out, mentally taking extremely detailed notes of the calluses on Frank’s hand. Fuck, he’s such a creep.

Frank grins, squeezing his hand slightly before letting go. At the front of the room the professor clears her throat, Gerard turns to face the front, reeling from the heavily taxing social interaction he just had to deal with (and the sinking feeling that he’s going to end up being a very lonely motherfucker for the rest of his life).

 

After that, Gerard falls into a very nice classroom friendship with Frank; the second day of class he walks in ten minutes late, because trains are really nothing if not always on time, _right_ , and Frank has actually saved his seat for him with his backpack. At first he thinks that Frank has saved it for someone else, but then Frank looks up and a smile lights up his face when he sees Gerard and oh look at that, he’s taking his backpack off the desk so that’s probably Gerard’s cue to take a seat there. 

So Gerard does, and he manages to quietly get his notebook out to take better notes than he did the last time he took this class. 

Sometime later, while he’s working on a zombie in the margin of his notes, a folded up note appears next to his hand.

He pauses, taking a glance at Frank, who is facing straight ahead with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, and weighs the pros and cons of opening it.

He opens it.

“Dude, zombies are so kick-ass, u’ve got excellent tastes, i can already tell. Also fuckin’ awesome drawing skills -frnk”

Gerard bites his lip. He flips the note over and sketches a zombified version of their professor. He waits a second before passing it back to Frank’s desk, staring down at his notebook the whole time. He hears Frank laugh and smiles to himself.

 

 

The next few classes pass much the same way, Gerard arrives a little late, Frank saves his seat, Frank passes him a note, usually commenting on what Gerard is sketching in the margin of his notebook. Sometimes though, the note will just be a question or a sentence on something unrelated and they’ll end up two papers deep into a conversation by the time the lecture is over; other times, it’ll just be a compliment on whatever shirt Gerard is wearing that day or how nice his eyes look, and Gerard sinks deeper into the pit of hopeless pining that he has quickly become accustomed to. 

Then the day comes where Gerard really has not done laundry in far too long and he has the option of wearing either shirts that haven’t seen soap in way too long and smell so bad he cancels them all as an option and shoves them all into the washing machine before leaving, or he can wear the Metallica tank top that's a size too small that Mikey got him as a joke last month. And as unfortunate as it is, Gerard really does not want to drive Frank away by arriving to class in a shirt you can smell from across the room, so he pulls the tank top on, looks at himself in the mirror and decides that if this is how he’s going, he might as well put effort into it. 

He marches into the bathroom, digs around under the sink for his ‘secret’ makeup bag (it’s the one with the expensive stuff from Sephora and Lush, and Mikey would make fun of him for eternity if he knew about it), and does his eyeliner like a fucking pro.

He’s heading out the door when he catches sight of himself in the mirror again and realizes he really should change out of sweats before he leaves, so he rushes into his room and digs out an old pair of tight black pants before rushing out the door, hoping he’ll make it to his train on time.

By the time he makes it to campus, he’s actually feeling pretty good about himself, like he’s feeling good enough he’s fucking sauntering his way to the classroom, steadily ignoring the little voice in the back of his mind telling him he looks fucking ridiculous.

He stops just outside the door, suddenly afraid to go in.

Gerard checks his watch and curses, he’s early, he’s early today and that means that Frank won’t have to save him a seat and that means Frank will probably sit somewhere else because if Gerard is early that means Frank doesn’t have to feel obligated to save Gerard a seat just because that’s where they usually sit-

“Hey, Gee!” Frank says, shaking Gerard out of his internal panic, waving a hand in front of his face, “Anybody in there?”

Oh fuck, how long has Frank been standing there? What if Gerard was talking out loud? He sometimes says what he’s thinking out loud, what if this was one of those times? 

“H-hey, Frankie,” Gerard replies, desperately trying to recall if he said anything out loud, and then he realizes he just called Frank Frankie, and what if they’re not friends enough for that to be okay?

When Gerard looks at Frank though, Frank is smiling a soft smile, with a look Gerard hasn’t really seen before on his face.

“You’re early today, huh? Finally catch the right train?” Frank finally says, grinning wide, and for the first time in a long while, Gerard finally feels like he’s not actually the butt of a joke.

He grins back, ignoring the tightening in his stomach when he looks at Frank, “Nah, just thought I’d save you a seat for a change, but it looks like my plan didn’t work. Just have to try again later.”

Frank giggles, fucking _giggles_ , “Guess next time I’ll have to take the wrong train.”

Gerard laughs and holds the door open for Frank, feeling a bit like he’s walking on air, which is fucking crazy because all he did was talk to Frank, it’s not like Frank fucking kissed him. That train of thought gets stopped as soon as it gets started because Gerard really doesn’t want to have to deal with a boner right now.

Halfway into the lecture, Frank passes him a note, which is weird because Gerard is actually taking notes today and he’s not adding to the current drawing of the zombie toast uprising Frank insisted he start. Gerard slows down his writing just a bit to spare a glance at Frank. Surprisingly Frank is looking at him, and when Gerard makes eye contact, Frank flushes and turns away, like he wasn’t supposed to be caught looking.

Gerard pauses, putting his pen down to grab the folded square of paper; he feels Frank’s eyes on him as he unfolds the note: 

“Holy christ gee, you look hot as hell today, and that’s saying something bc you usually look great regardless of what ur wearing”

Gerard flushes, stomach fluttering anxiously as he carefully refolds the note and tucks it into his pocket. He studiously ignores Frank for the rest of the lecture, all but running out the door when it’s over.

 

That night Mikey calls him while he’s hunched over his sketchpad, perfecting a new character he’s come up with that has nothing to do with Frank or his perfect face or body.

“So,” Mikey says, in lieu of greeting.

“So,” Gerard replies.

“So, we’re going out to dinner again this weekend, wash your laundry. Also, you’ll be happy to know that I’m also coming over after Halloween.”

“Oh,” Gerard says, slightly taken aback; for some reason he had thought Mikey was going to talk to him about Frank, “Yeah, okay, that’s great!” he says, because it really is, “You’re coming for the weekend then too, yeah?”

“Who is it?” Mikey asks, though it’s more of a statement than a question.

“Who’s what?” 

“Gerard.”

“It’s this guy I met in class…” Gerard sighs, closing his sketchbook and curling up on the couch.

On the other end, Mikey closes his eyes, fights a smile, “Tell me about,” he says with feeling, trying not to think of Pete.

Gerard tells Mikey the whole thing, extra emphasis on the note Frank gave him today, and Mikey laughs at him before telling him he should ask Frank out, to which Gerard retorts, “Yes, I’ll do that, because I’m such a glutton for rejection.”

“Based off what you just told me, I’m certain he won’t reject you, in fact, you bolting like that probably came across as you rejecting him,” Mikey says, using his ‘if I could slap you through the phone, I would’ voice.

Gerard huffs in consideration, and then changes the subject.

 

The next class though, Frank doesn’t pass him any notes, even when Gerard puts the finishing touches on Frank's zombie toast uprising, and Gerard starts to think maybe Mikey was right, maybe Gerard just accidently rejected a hot, awesome guy who wanted to date him because he’s got so low of self esteem that he can’t take a compliment.

He frowns, rips out the page, writes ‘To: Frankie :)’ on the back of it, and places it on Frank’s desk before he can talk himself out of it.

When the professor finally finishes her slideshow and everyone stands up to leave, Frank drops a piece of paper on Gerard’s notebook as he walks out.

Gerard waits until Frank is out the door before hurriedly shoving his things into his bag and tucking the note into the pocket of his sweater.

He manages to make it onto the train before he lets himself open it.

“sry if i creeped u out last week, u just looked extra hot, and I just wanted to tell u. You look pretty today too :)”

Gerard lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and smiles widely.

He’s still smiling when he gets home.

***  
“Gerard,” Mikey frowns, standing in front of Gerard’s closet with a pensive expression.

Gerard stops the hair dryer and pokes his head out of the bathroom door, “Yeah?”

“Did you actually wear this tank top.”

Gerard flushes, “I had to, okay! It was laundry day and all of my shirts were gross!”

Mikey walks into the bathroom, shirt in hand, looking like he’s going to start laughing, “Oh my god, you’re changing your standards of cleanliness for him.”

“No I’m not! It’s not like I shower before every class, you fucker, I just didn’t want to go in a shirt that you could smell once I entered the building, and this was the only one that you couldn’t!” Gerard cries indignantly, moving to turn the hair dryer back on.

“Oh my god, you so are!” Mikey laughs, “You need to introduce me to Frank so I can personally thank him and shake his hand.”

“Oh fuck you!” Gerard cries, shoving Mikey out of the bathroom, “Go sit on the couch and watch Netflix until I’m done, you asshole.”

“Yeah, yeah...Oh hey! How far have you gotten in that show I was telling you about?” Mikey asks, graciously changing the subject to familiar ground.

“Oh, about five seasons in? I don’t really know, check it yourself,” Gerard shouts, turning on the hair dryer, “Be out in ten!”

***  
“Hey, Gee,” Frank hisses, nudging Gerard’s left shoulder. Gerard stops shading in the fur on the cyborg dog attacking his notes on textiles and glances over at Frank.

Frank leans over, putting his face in dangerously close proximity of Gerard’s; Gerard swallows heavily, resolutely ignoring the butterflies in his stomach,”Remember when I told you my birthday was Halloween?” Frank asks. 

Gerard nods, trying to piece together where Frank is going with this.

Frank looks strangely nervous, “Well I’m having a birthday/Halloween party then and I was wondering if you wanted to come?”

God yes.

“Uhm, isn’t Halloween Wednesday?” he questions, eyebrows furrowing.

Frank frowns a little, a brief look of dejection flashing over his face, before being hidden by a small smile, “Yeah, but like it’s not gonna be a crazy party or anything. I don’t really have that many friends, man, it’s just gonna be a few people and a little bit of alcohol.”

Gerard blushes, “Oh, I-I didn’t mean to imply you were throwing, like, a rager or whatever.”

Frank give him a disarming smile, “Nah, I didn’t think you were. Do you want to come?”

Gerard finds himself smiling back, but he hesitates before answering. Mikey’s voice resonates in the back of his head, _Gerard you are a fucking idiot if you say no_. He nods, flush still on his cheeks, “Yeah, I’d love to.”

Frank grins even wider, “Sweet, I’ll give you my address and the time,” he says, turning to scribble on scrap of paper lying on top of his notebook.

Gerard waits until Frank hands him the note to turn back to his robo-dog; he tucks the note into the pocket of his sweater and picks up his pen, reminding himself to call Mikey as soon as he gets home.

 

***

“Gerard, you are fucking going to this party, I don’t care if I have to call Ray to drag your ass there,” Mikey says exasperatedly, thoroughly sick of Gerard’s whining.

Gerard flops backwards onto his bed, “But I _can’t_ , Mikey. What if I go there and he introduces me to his girlfriend. Or what if he introduces me to his _boyfriend_. Mikey. What if he introduces me to his boyfriend. Then I’ll have to act unsurprised and happy, and you know I can’t act for shit, so I’ll just embarrass myself, and then I’ll have to go home and drink myself into oblivion and never be able to go back to class so I’ll fail it again and lengthen my time in school and end up sinking deeper into debt.”

He waits for a reply.

Silence.

Gerard checks his phone to make sure Mikey hasn’t hung up. 

He hasn’t.

“Are you done?”

“...Yeah.”

“Good, now get up, go take a shower, put some nice clothes on, do your makeup, and fucking go,” Mikey states, using his ‘really-not-fucking-around’ voice.

Mikey hangs up. Gerard rolls off the bed and shuffles into the bathroom, already regretting the shower.

He towels his hair off whilst checking his closet for a nice, cleanish shirt. His eyes land on that stupid Metallica tank top, and for a second he _actually_ finds himself considering it.

He puts on a black long sleeve and a pair of well worn jeans instead, then he heads back into the bathroom to follow Mikey’s instructions, digging out his favorite eyeliner.

He makes sure to grab his leather jacket before he finally heads out the door; he’s pretty sure Mikey would be proud of him.

***

Gerard makes it all the way until he’s standing in front of Frank’s apartment to start freaking out at the thought of communicating with Frank outside of class, in an environment where he can’t just turn to his notebook and focus on drawing when he gets too flustered.

He stands outside of the door for far too long, and just when his nerves are getting the better of him and he’s about to turn on his heel and go home, someone walks up next to him.

“You here for Frankie’s party?” the stranger asks. Gerard glances at him and is immediately intimidated by the stoic expression that nearly surpasses Mikey’s.

He ducks his head, “Y-yeah,” he says, already feeling flustered.

The guy cracks a smile, “Are you Gerard?” he asks, sticking his hand out when Gerard feebly nods, “I’m Bob, Frank’s roommate.”

Gerard shakes it and relaxes a little, this guy, Bob, reminds him enough of Mikey that he’s already starting to feel comfortable.

“This hallway is pretty great, but I think the party will be even better if we’re inside,” Bob says, still smiling as he knocks on the door. 

Gerard looks at him in confusion, Bob just smirks like he knows something Gerard doesn’t.

The door opens, revealing a smiling Frank, “Bob, I told you, you have to do the _secret knock_ \- oh!” he cuts off, staring a little wide eyed at Gerard, “Gee! You made it!”

Gerard stops feeling relaxed, “Uh, yeah, sorry if I’m, uh, late?” He shoves his hands back into his pockets before realizing that _fuck_ , he didn’t get Frank a present.

Bob places a reassuring hand on Gerard’s shoulder, Frank narrows his eyes, “You’re not late, Frankie here just starts his parties too early in the day and forgets to tell people,” Bob says, starting to guide Gerard past Frank, “Come on, let’s get you a beer.” Gerard goes willingly.

Frank shuts the door and follows them into the kitchen where Gerard is leaning back onto the counter, laughing at Bob’s back as he leans down to reach into the fridge.

Bob stands back up, two beers in hand, he offers one to Gerard before smirking over at a scowling Frank, “And that’s just when he thought I hated him. He gets a lot more annoying with time,” Bob grins, reaching out to rustle Frank’s hair, “‘It’s okay though, Frankie’s cute enough to make up for it.”

Gerard blushes, unwilling to voice his agreement. 

Frank glares, mouthing ‘Hands off’ at Bob when Gerard looks down into his beer.

“Okay, so, if you need me, I’ll be over there,” Bob says, pointing out of the kitchen to where the other party guests are, and then he walks out, bumping Frank’s shoulder as he goes.

Frank was right, this is a small party, there looks to be about ten people here, including Frank and Gerard.

Gerard debates following Bob out to the party. Frank moves to the fridge, grabbing a beer for himself.

“I uh, I forgot to get you a present,” Gerard starts, already regretting speaking.

Frank turns to him, “It’s cool, you being here is present enough,” he shrugs, blushing faintly.

Gerard smiles.

Bob comes back into the kitchen, “Gerard. Frankie,” he nods, “Hambone is drunk enough that he turned off the Xbox and turned on The Princess Bride, and I feel that it is my duty to tell you that you have become the lamest person I know, Frank.”

Frank shrugs a shoulder, setting the beer onto the counter, “You were the one who fucking nixed the costume party, Bob, I don’t know what to tell you. Also, I happen to like The Princess Bride.”

Bob gives Frank a look, “Would you like me to explain again why I said that it was a bad idea?”

Frank coughs, “No.”

Gerard shifts from one foot to the other, “Uhm,” he says. Frank turns his head to look at him, “I don’t, I don’t think you’re lame. And I like The Princess Bride too.”

Frank smiles widely, “See, Bob, Gee agrees; I’m not lame. Now let’s go watch some fucking Princess Bride.” Frank grabs hold of Gerard’s free hand and pulls him past Bob and into the living room.

“Hambone!” Frank calls, “Me ‘n’ Gee call the couch, move your fat ass!”

‘The couch’ is a loveseat that looks like it’s one bad day from falling apart; Gerard loves it. The man sprawled out on it, Hambone, Gerard thinks, flips Frank off.

Frank drops Gerard’s hand, and Gerard immediately misses it. “Get the fuck up, you dick,” Frank says, glaring at him, putting his hands on his hips, “Go sit with Sandra or some shit.”

Hambone rolls off the couch and onto the floor, barely missing the coffee table. Frank shrugs and grabs Gerard’s hand again, guiding him onto the couch.

Gerard sits down, careful not to spill over onto Frank’s cushion. Frank flops down next to him and immediately moves to tuck himself into Gerard’s side.

Gerard finishes his beer faster than he thought possible, and places the empty can at his feet. He sits up and leans back into the couch, wrapping an arm around Frank, who remains cuddled up to him.

As far as parties go, it is a rather lame one, but that’s a fucking good thing where Gerard is concerned; if there were a lot of people all jammed into this small space, music pumping loudly through it, and too many beers in his system, there’s no way he would be able to talk to Frank, let alone sit cuddled together on a fucking loveseat.

It’s not until The Princess Bride ends and Bob makes the call for The Dark Night ( _I don’t fucking care, Frank, we will not get into another Star Wars marathon_ ) that they shift so that Frank is lying on Gerard’s lap, loosely cradled against Gerard’s chest.

Gerard loses his jacket and manages to drink another beer while Frank and Bob argue about what to watch next.

Gerard suggests Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and both Bob and Frank yell, “Excellent!”. 

The last two people leave as Bob is finding it on Netflix, and then it’s just Bob in the recliner and Frank and Gerard on the couch. 

By the time Bill and Ted find the princesses, Frank is yawning into Gerard’s shirt, and Gerard feels his eyelids growing heavy. Fuck, he can’t fall asleep here, he can’t fucking fall asleep in Frank’s apartment; Mikey might be able to do some shit like this, but this is Gerard and Gerard really isn’t Mikey.

He falls asleep before Bill and Ted get back to the present.

***

Gerard wakes up to Bob leaving the apartment, “Class.” is all he says, and then he’s shutting the door shut behind him, leaving Gerard alone on in an apartment that’s not his that he accidently fell asleep in.

It’s then he notices the weight on his chest. He looks down, only to find that Frank is sprawled on top of him, all but anchoring him down, head resting close to Gerard’s left nipple. He’s snoring lightly and Gerard is pretty sure that there’s a small patch of drool on his shirt. 

It might just be the most adorable thing Gerard has ever seen; it’s so adorable Gerard forgets to start freaking out. Instead he shifts Frank so that he’s up a little higher and Gerard can actually wrap his arms around him.

Frank mutters something, snuffles, and tucks his face into Gerard’s neck, breathing deeply in his sleep.

Gerard falls back asleep stupidly happy, grin on his face.

 

When he wakes up again, he’s alone on the couch. He glances around, checking to see if he can spot Frank from his seat on the couch.

He can’t.

He waits a few minutes that feel like eternity before last night comes crashing back down onto him and oh look at that he’s starting to freak out.

“Hey, Gee, time to wake up!” Frank says cheerily, walking back into the room with two coffee mugs in his hands.

Gerard stops freaking out, choosing instead to blink sleepily up at Frank as he comes to a stop in front of him.

Frank grins down at him, “I don’t really know how you like your coffee, but I think I made a pretty good guess. You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to though.” Frank adds, looking as if he’s now considering not giving it to Gerard.

Gerard makes grabby hands for the mug; Frank giggles, relief evident on his face, and hands the blue mug to Gerard.

Gerard takes a sip, and it tastes better than how Gerard usually makes it. He says so to Frank, who blushes a deep red and rubs a hand on the back of his neck.

Frank sits down next to him, squishing himself against Gerard, kicking a few stray cans of beer underneath the coffee table; Gerard’s pretty sure one of those was his.

Frank remains close to him, sipping his coffee and flipping on the tv. Gerard elects to ignore the tv, instead choosing to stare at Frank and desperately wish he had enough balls to just take the coffee out of Frank’s hands and kiss him.

He finishes his coffee in what feels like fucking record time and leans forward to set the empty cup on the coffee table. 

Frank is setting his down next to it even before Gerard leans back up. Gerard turns to him, starting to open his mouth to apologize for accidentally falling asleep, when Frank sits up and turns to Gerard with a nervous grin and blush on his face. Gerard’s stomach drops, and he desperately wishes he had more than coffee to help cover up the gross taste in his mouth.

Frank leans in and kisses him. It’s just a light lip on lip action, but it’s just enough for Gerard to not care about the inadequate cover up and when Frank raises his hands to cup Gerard’s face, Gerard just goes _fuck it_ , and pulls Frank onto his lap, giving him better access to the wonderful world of Frank’s tongue.

Frank groans and moves a hand into Gerard’s hair, ultimately taking control and jesus christ, he is fucking Gerard’s mouth with his tongue. Gerard moans into Frank’s mouth, just letting him take and take until it’s too much, and Gerard finds himself pushing Frank off his lap.

“Fuck Frank,” he pants, pushing a very willing Frank into his old spot, “Is it okay if I suck you off?” he asks, dropping to his knees in front of him; Frank stares down at him, a hilarious combination of shock and want written across his face, and then Frank nods and Gerard groans, palming himself through his pants as he fucks around with Frank’s zipper.

A little bit of work goes into the process of nudging Frank’s jeans and boxers down, but it’s just too much and Gerard just fucking stops when they’re far enough down his thighs, opting to just suck the head of Frank’s cock into his mouth instead.

Frank moans, throwing his head back against the couch as Gerard goes inch by inch, slowly taking Frank in until he’s hitting the back of his throat, and then, only then, does he start to suck Frank off, wrapping a hand around the base, and bobbing his head with a fucking fervor.

Frank’s getting close, close enough that he’s about to give warning when Gerard pulls off.

“Fuck my mouth,” Gerard says, and takes Frank back into his mouth, and really, who would Frank be if he didn’t follow that order. So he does. He twines his fingers through Gerard’s hair, pulling sharply when Gerard moans around him, and fucks into his mouth. It’s only a few thrusts before he’s coming down Gerard’s throat, shivering as Gerard swallows around him during the aftershocks.

Frank pulls his pants up enough so that he can tuck himself away, and then he’s sliding off the couch, landing very close to a still wide eyed Gerard. “How close are you, baby?” he asks whilst he’s undoing Gerard’s pants and pushing him down, “Because I really want to return the favor and I’m down with doing it right here.”

Gerard, god bless him, Gerard blushes, “You don’t have to-”

“Fuck no I don’t have to,” Frank cuts him off, “I really fucking want to though, is that okay?”

Gerard nods, and Frank takes it upon himself to lean up to Gerard and kiss him sweetly. Sidetracked, he pulls back to trail kisses down his jaw, stopping to suck a mark onto his neck.

“Frankie,” Gerard groans, pulling Frank closer, rolling his hips against Frank’s, ignoring the rough tug of denim against his dick.

Frank moves back down, pulling Gerard’s pants down about as far as he pulled Frank’s down. “Oh, fuck _me_ , you’re not wearing any underwear,” Frank groans, heat pooling in his gut, “that is so fucking hot.”

Gerard squeezes his eyes shut and mutters something unintelligible as Frank takes Gerard’s cock in hand, and licks the tip a few times, sucking lightly around it before sucking it into his mouth. 

“Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, Frankie,” Gerard moans above him, one hand darting out to frantically find some sort of traction in the carpet, the other hand threading through Frank’s hair, and Frank _knew_ he’d be loud during sex, he fucking knew it.

Frank moans around him as Gerard bucks up like he just couldn’t help it. He relaxes his throat and moves so that he’s deepthroating Gerard. Gerard moans louder, chanting Frank’s name like a prayer as Frank anchors Gerard’s hips down with a heavy hand and sets a fast rhythm.

“F-fuck, oh god, of fuck, Frank, Frankie, I’m close,” Gerard pants out, tugging at Frank’s hair in warning. Frank doesn’t let up his rhythm, he just, he just fucking takes Gerard deeper, and then that’s it, Gerard is coming around Frank’s moans, crying out Frank’s name as he comes down Frank’s throat.

Frank sits up wearing a satisfied smile, straddling Gerard’s thighs, quickly swiping a hand across his mouth. Gerard sits under him, staring up at the ceiling with glazed over eyes and an open mouth, like his brain is officially offline. 

Frank laughs and moves back down to kiss him.

 

After Gerard finally gets up off the floor (leaving probably more than a few brain cells behind), Frank disappears into the bathroom to brush his teeth again, and refills their coffee. They sit on the couch, Frank on Gerard’s lap, for a few hours, idly flipping through the channels to sift through shitty day time tv.

An old episode of Parks and Recreation is on when Gerard’s phone rings. Frank moves out of the way while he digs into his back pocket for it. 

He answers it with Frank moving back onto his lap, “Hello?”

“Gerard? Where the fuck are you, dude? Did you go to a bar and get too drunk to find a way home?” 

“Oh fuck! Mikey, I’m sorry, I accidently fell asleep on Frank’s couch last night, I’ll be there soonish. You should probably just go to, like, the store for now though, I’ll text you when I get home.”

“Fuck that, you gave me a key for a reason. I’m already inside.”

Mikey hangs up.

Gerard laughs and drops his phone next to him on the couch.

Frank looks up at him, “Your brother, right?”

Gerard nods, “Yeah, he told me a few weeks ago he was coming over after Halloween; he likes to spend his days off here instead of at home in Jersey.”

“Oh, well I have work in two hours so I guess I’ll let you leave my apartment,” Frank says, pressing a kiss to Gerard’s cheek, “but first, you really need to let me give you my number. I’ve been trying really hard to give it you since the first day of class.”

Gerard doesn’t really believe that, but he’ll let it slide. He opens up a new contact, waiting for Frank to rattle off his number.

Frank grabs his phone before Gerard can protest, (he doesn’t really want to anyways), and when Gerard gets it back a few minutes later, the contact name proudly reads ‘Frnkie ❤️❤️ :)’.

“I called myself to give me your number because I think my phone is under two blankets and is on silent, so don’t worry about returning the favor,” Frank says, winking, “Hey, before you go though, you wanna go out for a smoke?”

Gerard briefly considers it.

Mikey can wait a bit longer.

***  
Gerard gets home two hours later, humming a song under his breath, grinning to himself.

He starts to open the door, but it opens for him just as he’s reaching for the door knob.

Mikey stands there gazing at him, looking him up and down.

Gerard shoves his hands into his pockets, vainly willing his smile away.

“You had a good time last night then, I take it?” Mikey asks, expression causally neutral.

Gerard shrugs, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Mikey cracks a small smile, “You’re just itching to draw it out, aren’t you?”

Gerard shrugs again.

Mikey moves out of the doorway, “Come on, I’ll make a pot of coffee and you can tell me all about it over your sketchbook.”

Gerard smiles and heads for his newly designated ‘Frank’ sketchbook.

Mikey shakes his head, his brother can manage to get laid by his hot guy crush and Mikey can’t? He sighs and heads into the kitchen.

Gerard never gets around to actually texting Frank the rest of the day, distracted by Mikey and his very strong desire to perfect the arch of Frank’s eyebrows.

***

Mikey sends Gerard off to class with a knowing smirk on his face; Gerard is still walking around dreamily, smiling at anything and everything. 

His smile disappears when he walks into class and Frank is nowhere to be seen. Their seats are open, but Frank is not in his. 

Gerard quickly scans the room, hoping to see him in another seat.

Frank is not in class.

Gerard’s heart sinks.

He turns on his heel and walks out, not bothering to stay for the lecture.

***

“Mikeyyyyyyyyyy!” Gerard cries, slamming the door shut behind him. 

Mikey looks up from his comic book, “What? Shit, Gee, what happened?”

Gerard’s eyes well up. He flops down on the couch next to Mikey and fights the tears back, “Frank wasn’t in class today.”

Mikey looks at him in disbelief, “And that’s reason enough to look like someone killed a puppy in front of you?”

Gerard groans, rolling over, “He wasn’t in class and he hasn’t texted or called me at all.”

Mikey swats Gerard’s forehead with his comic book, “And have you?”

“No…”

“Oh my god. Gerard, take your phone out and text Frank like a normal fucking person.”

Gerard winces, because what if this is Frank trying to nicely tell him that this was a one off thing and he didn’t actually want Gerard to have his number? He whines something like that to Mikey and Mikey smacks him with the comic book again, and then an escalating number of events occur and somehow, _somehow_ , Gerard ends up locked in the bathroom, only able to come out when he texts Frank.

Fifteen minutes later, he types a message that he decides is good enough to keep.

Five minutes later, hand slapped over his eyes, he presses send.

Not two minutes later, his phone buzzes a response, “Got sick :(“ the message reads.

Gerard feels like crying in relief. 

Mikey opens the door, “Well?”

“He’s just sick!” Gerard says, smiling because Frank still likes him and isn’t cold shouldering him. And then, frowning, “Oh, he’s sick.”

Mikey gives him a look which reads ‘you are the biggest idiot I know’, “Okay, so be a good boyfriend and go buy some soup and cuddle him.”

“Boyfriend?” is Gerard’s reply.

Mikey sighs. “You’re so lucky I drove here.”

***

Mikey herds Gerard into the car, picks up some miso soup, and wrangles Frank’s address out of him.

Mikey drops Gerard and the soup off in front of Frank’s apartment building. 

Mikey drives back to Gerard’s, resolving to just text Pete and see what happens, because if Gerard, in all of his low self esteem and anxious glory, can get himself a boyfriend, then by god, so can Mikey.

Gerard makes it up to Frank’s front door before his anxiety takes complete control and he almost bails.

He knocks on the door.

A few minutes pass, and then the door opens slowly, revealing a very under the weather Frank.

Frank just stares at him, looking so pathetic Gerard nearly cries. Nearly. 

He shifts the bag with soup high onto his shoulder and wraps Frank up in a hug.

“It’s better than it looks,” Frank says, voice hoarse, but he wraps his arms tightly around Gerard.

Smushing a kiss against Frank’s temple, Gerard moves them into Frank’s apartment and releases Frank to shut the door behind him.

“Go to bed,” Gerard says, moving to set the soup down on the kitchen counter.

Frank opens his mouth to argue, only to be stopped by a cough. He sighs, “Yes, mom.”

Gerard rolls his eyes and grabs Frank’s hand, letting Frank guide him into his bedroom.

Frank climbs onto his bed, and watches as Gerard grabs a movie off of the large stack on Frank’s desk and pops it into the DVD player.

Gerard turns around, smiling softly at Frank. Frank make grabby hands at him, and Gerard laughs and climbs into bed beside Frank.

He shifts them around until he’s sitting, cushioned by pillows, against the headboard with Frank in between his legs, pulled close to his chest.

Frank relaxes against him, humming softly when Gerard rests his head on Frank’s shoulder and slips a hand under Frank’s shirt to rub soothing circles into the too warm skin. Frank slouches down, getting more comfortable; he’s asleep before the movie ends.

Gerard slides down the pillows, careful not to wake Frank as he moves so that they’re lying down.

He holds Frank in his arms until sleep takes him over.

Two hours later, Gerard wakes up to the sound of Frank coughing. He blinks his eyes open to see Frank blow his nose and lay back down, slinging an arm around Gerard and cuddling up to him.

Gerard untangles himself from Frank, who whines out complaints, “I’ll be right back,” Gerard says, shushing him as he leaves, heading out to the kitchen.

He finds lukewarm coffee in a coffee pot, so he rummages around for a bowl and a coffee cup, and heats the coffee before the soup. 

He ladles a bit of soup into a bowl, adds creamer to his cup, grabs a spoon, and heads back into Frank’s room.

Frank looks up at him as he enters, a quick flash of a smile hidden by a tissue as he blows his nose. Frank tosses the tissue into his trash can and smiles at Gerard, who stands in front of him, offering the bowl of soup.

“Aww,” Frank says, grinning widely, reaching up to grab the bowl, “You’re the best boyfriend ever!”

Frank freezes.

Gerard sets his cup down to grin and nuzzle Frank’s temple. “I really am,” he agrees, laughing as Frank sets his bowl next to Gerard’s cup on his nightstand and uses two hands to tug Gerard back onto the bed.

 

***

 

In the end, Gerard passes the class with an A and is able to wrap up the rest of his classes for graduation. 

But that’s not the best part, no, the best part is that he got a husband out of the whole ordeal.

**Author's Note:**

> haha oh my god I can't believe I just wrote this. It took a long time to finish this and it's really not that great, but holy shit it's 7,100 words, how, why, what, where did I find it in me to write that many words. I can't write a 2,000 word essay as easily as I wrote this. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments are greatly appreciated but not required to pass this class ^^


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